


So Close

by Smuffly



Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: F/M, Humour, Romance, Shules, observation, very close talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26660821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smuffly/pseuds/Smuffly
Summary: When Chief Vick pops back to the station late one night, after being at a conference, she becomes an accidental witness to a pivotal moment in the relationship between Shawn and Juliet.
Relationships: Juliet O'Hara/Shawn Spencer
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	So Close

**Author's Note:**

> A one-shot. Based on a prompt from Shuuuliet, who wanted to read a fic that dealt with Chief Vick's perspective on Shawn and Juliet.
> 
> Set in Season Two at the end of 'Bounty Hunters!'.

**_Reed Richards: "You need to control yourself, and think before you act."_ **   
**_Johnny Storm: "Yeah, but you see, that's your problem; you always think, you never act."_ **   
**_(From: 'The Fantastic Four'.)_ **

**-x0x-**

"Chief! I didn't expect to see you tonight. How was the conference?"

Sergeant Martha Allen looked up from her log book with the warm smile she always reserved for the people she truly liked. Shawn Spencer. Juliet O'Hara. _Me,_ thought Karen Vick, feeling strangely pleased.

"Budget Wrangling and Staff Redeployment? I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions, Sergeant."

"I hear you." Martha gave the chief a shrewd look. "You can tell me to mind my own business, I'm sure, but if that was me, I'd be home redeploying a cup of hot cocoa right about now."

"Believe me, I'll get there." Karen smiled to show that she was not offended. "But it's my husband's birthday tomorrow and Richard's a bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out gifts. Last year... Well, that's a long story, actually. Never let it be said I don't learn from my mistakes. I left his present at the office this year. Filed it under 'S'."

Martha nodded wisely. Karen could tell that the sergeant had no idea what she was talking about. "'S' for 'surprise'?" she prompted.

"Oh - of course."

"So I'm popping in to fetch it. In fact..." Karen lowered her voice. "I'm not even here. No messages. No complications. Understood?" She paused, feeling slightly wistful. "Unless..."

"Unless?"

The station seemed quiet. _Too_ quiet. "Did I miss anything good?" she said plaintively.

Was it her imagination or did Martha look shifty? The sergeant's eyes slid sideways and Karen noticed O'Hara skulking by the coffee-maker, lost in thought. _Interesting._

"Oh, I'm sure Detective Lassiter's report is on your desk already." There was a definite edge to Martha's voice when she said Carlton's name. Sadly, no warm smiles were ever reserved for the head detective. "And you know, I'm not one to gossip."

"Very wise," the chief agreed absently. Her curiosity was aroused by this point. All she wanted to do was slip into her office unobserved by anyone else, pull out one of the candy bars that were also hidden in there (so carefully that even Shawn and Gus had failed to discover them) and find out what on _earth_ had been happening in her absence. Based on Martha's strange reaction, she knew it probably involved O'Hara, and she would prefer to have all the pertinent facts at her disposal before she approached the young woman.

 _Less of the 'young',_ she scolded herself. Juliet's age was irrelevant. She was a first rate detective, and everyone knew it. If something had gone wrong, Karen was determined to offer her all the support she needed. But, as the interim chief, she also needed to appear omniscient at all times. Luckily, Carlton was a stickler for completing his paperwork promptly. Karen ducked into her office and, sure enough, there was the folder on her desk. Quite a mountain of folders, in fact, which didn't bode well for tomorrow, but she was delighted to see that the head detective's report sat neatly on the top. Karen's dark eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"I'm not one to gossip either," she reassured herself. "I just need information. It's my job."

Forgetting all about her original mission, she picked up the folder, liberated a Snickers bar from its hiding place in her broken shredder (were there fewer snacks in there than she remembered?), and settled down in the corner of the room where she knew from experience that one could sit and observe the bullpen without being noticed.

O'Hara had walked away from the coffee pot empty-handed. Now she was heading for her desk. Karen squinted through the half-open blinds, noting for the first time that there was evidence of a nasty cut on Juliet's forehead, taped and cleaned but still fairly fresh. The mystery deepened. She cracked open the folder with relish.

Taking Carlton's pompous delivery into account, it was still a riveting read. Murder. A man on the run (and now she understood O'Hara's state of mind). A false accusation. Expensive hair gel...? Clearly, Spencer had played his part as usual. Karen was becoming quite accomplished at teasing the true story from her head detective's cursory acknowledgement. And it wasn't hard to understand Shawn's motivation this time. Not when the answer was there in plain sight.

Juliet O'Hara.

In her limited capacity as interim chief, Karen had fought tooth and nail against the establishment for her own choice of junior detective. Her reasoning had more to do with potential than anything proven. O'Hara had less experience than the other candidates, it was true, but she was highly motivated and displayed a natural instinct for the job that was exciting. She had also achieved a commendable score on the detective's exam - only ever surpassed by one other person. _And those were exceptional circumstances,_ the chief thought with a wry smile, enjoying the secret she kept from her colleagues. _One hundred percent, at fifteen years of age. Lord help us..._

Add to that the fact that O'Hara could actually hold her own against Carlton Lassiter - liked him, even! What better proof did anyone need? The two had become a strong team, surprising the mayor and his cronies. Surprising Karen herself, if she was being honest. She had hoped for a miracle and it had come true. Not for one single day had she regretted putting her neck on the line for Juliet O'Hara.

What she really hadn't anticipated was Spencer's reaction to the new hire.

Karen liked to think that she was a good judge of character. In the early days, she had pegged Henry's prodigal son as little more than a charming opportunist who knew how to please when he wanted to; who flew by the seat of his pants and never thought about the long term consequences of his actions. Secretly, she had been furious with him for casually outing Carlton's secret; a revelation that led directly to Lucinda Barry's transfer. She had seen the pain that random act had caused her head detective, even though he did his best to hide it. She never said as much to Shawn because, uncomfortable as it had been to admit it at first, the department needed him. Did she believe he was psychic? Even now, she couldn't answer either way with absolute conviction. Were his skills remarkable? No question. And so she chose to have faith, in spite of Shawn's capricious nature.

When O'Hara appeared on the scene, a month later, the chief caught a glimpse of something else in Spencer - something deeply rooted and appealing. She was glad to see it, but embarrassed to have missed it from the start. His clever act had fooled her in a way she hadn't expected, and that almost never happened. He was a master of hiding in plain sight, she thought to herself. _But I see you now._

Almost as though her silent claim had summoned him, Shawn sidled into the bullpen. His manner suggested he had been there for quite some time - waiting, perhaps, for Martha to leave her post, since the desk sergeant was no longer visible. Watching over Juliet.... _and me?_ Karen felt uncomfortable at the possibility that he was aware of her presence. To be caught spying in her very own precinct would be so undignified. And yet...

And yet.

The scene was compelling; a soap opera playing out right before her eyes. She couldn't pull back. She couldn't stop watching.

He was wearing some kind of ridiculous vest... that suited him, actually. It altered his bearing and she knew instinctively that the role he was playing allowed that hidden part of him to break free at last. He was quiet and thoughtful, nervous, even - so unlike his public self - but it was the look on his face that made Karen's breath catch in her throat. Was this the moment? She bit her lip. Was this the _right_ moment?

And how dare she presume to watch something so personal?

 _If I move, they'll both see me,_ she reasoned objectively. _He'll lose his chance._

_What, you're doing him a favour?_

_Shut up,_ she told her conscience, clutching at the edge of her seat as Shawn reached Juliet and leaned against the pillar beside her desk. He tried to look casual but he was fooling no one, least of all the woman who stood before him. Time slowed down. The air was charged. Karen could feel the tiny hairs rise up on the back of her neck. She could only imagine how Juliet must be feeling. Spencer's full attention, when bestowed upon anyone, was all-encompassing. Everything else fell away. That was the nature of his curious magnetism. And Juliet mattered to him in a way that went far beyond fancy or friendship. Double the intensity, then. Or triple it, perhaps...

Juliet was speaking earnestly. Shawn moved closer; gentle, reassuring. All at once, his hand was on her shoulder.

He leaned in.

Karen flushed and looked away - but as she did so, something unexpected caught her attention. The kiss was no kiss after all. They were hovering on the brink, in an act so full of restraint that it stole her breath away completely. Not a seduction but an overture.

And who would ever have believed that Shawn had this much self-control?

 _Could a relationship actually work for them?_ She found herself daring to hope on their behalf, drawn in by the spell that was binding them closer. Not tonight; this wasn't the time. Her instinct had been right, and Juliet had known it too. But Shawn had tilted his hand at last - all hearts, thought Karen - and that was enough. "For now," she murmured as she watched them break apart. Shawn backed away slowly. And Juliet, who had seemed so calm, revealed the depth of her emotion when she saw the naked yearning in his eyes.

He turned - and the moment was over. Yet Karen saw the mask for what it was, as he strolled past her window jauntily, Spencer once more...

...and smiled in her direction.

The chief drew back in shock. Had she imagined it? _Had_ he known, all along? Trusted her that much; revealed himself willingly?

She should have been ashamed, but she felt honoured to be his confidant.

 _So close,_ the look seemed to say.

**Author's Note:**

> If you watch Shawn walk away in the episode, he really does smile in that direction...


End file.
